The Dementia Trust Launches New Impact Accelerator Programme

The Dementia Trust has announced the first recipient of its new Impact Accelerator programme, awarding £45,000 to K.i.M, a sensory tool designed to improve the lives of people living with dementia and those who care for them.

The new funding will enable K.i.M to develop the prototype support platform and bring the tool a significant step closer to real world deployment.

Supported by Dementia Research UK, the Dementia Trust’s Impact Accelerator Awards are a new initiative designed to help promising science backed and academic innovations move beyond research and towards real world implementation. K.i.M is the first project to receive funding through the new programme, highlighting its potential to deliver life changing technology to those who need it.

Dylan Harper, Chair at The Dementia Trust, said: “The Impact Accelerator Award programme supports projects that already have a strong evidence and are ready to scale, embed or influence wider policy, practice or service delivery. K.i.M has made significant progress in demonstrating the difference the platform can make and we are pleased to be able to support the next phase of the platform’s development.”

K.i.M is designed to help people better understand cognitive and sensory changes before, during and after a dementia diagnosis. The platform aims to help individuals, carers and families recognise what is happening and respond more effectively, supporting independence for longer. This award follows significant progress in demonstrating the platform’s potential impact through prototypes. This next phase of development will focus on the creation of a practical and accessible product.

Kimberley Littlemore, founder and carer at K.i.M, said: “So far, we have developed a prototype of K.i.M. It shows us what is working, what is not working and gives us direction for what we want to do next. The funding from Dementia Trust will allow us to go to the next stage and build K.i.M from start to finish. The Dementia Trust team has been so supportive and I am excited to benefit from their expertise and guidance as we work to bring K.i.M to the people who need it most.”

The Dementia Trust is a Scotland based charity that has spent nearly 40 years improving the lives of people living with dementia, their carers and the professionals who support them.